Chapter 7: Manor Exploration!

Right as Ain entered the hallway, he was somewhat taken aback by the architecture.

Similarly to his and Annalise's bedroom, the place was very spacious.

There was an occasional potted plant, and without traveling far, he saw a portrait of a young woman wearing regal clothing.

She had long grayish-brown hair, sharp fuchsia eyes, and a muscular build. In the corner, "To Maria" was plastered in small but bold text.

'That's the Granny who picked us up? Either that or a Relative, maybe?' Ain hummed as he stopped briefly to look at the art piece.

She wore a deep wine-red gown with sleeves that nearly hid her hands, a tightly fitted bodice, and an ivory corset of fine silk. Or the artist was very flattering when detailing the dress.

As he continued, Ain went to a parlor, the closest room to his residence. Although he wasn't exactly sure where Annalise went, he knew it was this way unless she pulled a fast one and switched directions without crossing the room again.

Ain peaked in and scanned the room.

Like the hallway, it had high-quality wooden floors and was a large open area. The roof was a little lower than the others, but the ornate interior made up for it. A grand fireplace carved from dark marble and a mantel adorned with porcelain figurines were just a few of the decorations.

Unfortunately, Annalise wasn't in this room. So aside from the exquisitely comfy-looking couches, Ain lacked any interest here and promptly left.

Continuing his little adventure, a few turns of complex hallways ended up leading him to the Entrance.

Large double doors towered over Ain. Being forced to look up at them only made them seem bigger as if they were for when the old lady invited giants over for tea by the marble fireplace.

Above him hung a grand chandelier, and to both his sides were curved steps that led upward. Each side also had a hall connecting them to elsewhere. He came from the left hall and headed toward the right.

His pace was quite a bit faster than he had expected. Many doors were closed, allowing him to skip over them. Even if Annalise was somehow in one of them, he couldn't open them. The stairs were much the same.

'Forget a mansion… This place is a goddamn castle.'

Ain's body swayed unevenly as he nearly lost his balance, his eyelids drooping.

'You've got to be kidding me. This body is so useless!' He complained like he wasn't already pushing his newborn body to its absolute limit.

As he struggled to stave off the drowsiness while turning into the right wing, he finally found his goal!

Annalise calmly sat on the wooden floor with her absolutely adorable blue onesie.

Elated that he had finally found her, Ain's small body gave out, causing him to fall on the floor. If he didn't give his full attention to moving each individual part of his body, it refused to listen to him.

His impact made a soft thud, alerting Annalise to his presence. When she turned to face him, her smile widened, and she hit her wrists together.

It wasn't quite clapping, but she did manage to do so a couple of times accidentally.

'Was she happy that I escaped too?'

With a little more than a "bit" of effort, Ain managed to sit himself up.

"Core… Did you hear that?" Maria asked, her voice muffled behind a mostly closed door.

'Oh, and they're here too. Guess they won't need to worry about finding us.' Ain shrugged.

This was better for him. It meant that he didn't need to try and return to their playroom on his own.

The door opening caused Annalise to change her attention once again, seeing the windy set of armor.

The two looked at each other, one seeming far more surprised at their presence than the other.

"Annalise?" Core questioned before turning, peeking out and seeing Ain as well.

"Ain?"

"Core. What are you talking about?" Maria stared idly at her partner.

Core looked at her and then looked back at the children. They weren't sure how to make what they said any clearer.

"Annalise. Ain. How did you escape the crib?"

Maria raised a brow as she placed her fountain pen on the table.

"What?" She questioned again before she stood up.

"Move, you big lug." She said, nudging Core over as she peeked out of the room herself.

As she saw the sight that Core mentioned, she froze up.

"My god, you're not insane. How did they escape?"

Core shrugged. He was in there only 20 minutes ago, playing with them

"Honestly." Maria sighed, picking up Annalise.

"Bwaaa!" Annalise giggled.

"These brats are lucky I'm almost done with today's work. Let's bring them back to their playroom."

Core nodded in agreement. With a twist of their wrist, a gentle wind encircled Ain, lifting him up.

"Woah…!"

It was the same as when Core initially picked them up two months ago.

'I rescind my previous comment. Their control over wind is very profound.' Ain thought.

It wasn't much of a surprise, considering Core was made out of wind, but such accurate usage of wind to carry a living infant was rare, even among wind elementals.

It was a completely different feeling from the Gravity Manipulation he used to fly in his past life.

That aside, Core and Maria brought the kids to their room far quicker than the eternity it took for them to get to her study. When they arrived, both of their eyes opened wide at the hole in Ain's crib.

They both took long looks at Ain, and he responded in kind with a large smile.

He was pretty proud of his handy work. Especially for a first attempt!

Maria used her free hand to pinch the bridge of her nose.

"Core, remind me to put in an order with David for some higher-quality wood."

The two children were placed on the ground, and Core gave another slight nod to Maria.

The near-instant Ain touched the ground, his body rapidly grew heavier, and he struggled to push his eyelids up.

Thunk!

The sound of a small body hitting the floor softly echoed throughout the room.

Unfortunately, the drain ended up being too much for him.

By the time Maria turned around, he was snoring like a fool, causing the old lady to chuckle.

"It seems your little adventure tired him out."